


Overflow

by TeaRoses



Category: Hellsing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-27
Updated: 2010-02-27
Packaged: 2017-10-07 14:29:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/66042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeaRoses/pseuds/TeaRoses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Walter has more than one problem:  He has revealed his feelings for Seras Victoria, and the Hellsing Manor plumbing is breaking down.  Gonzoverse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Overflow

**Author's Note:**

> This was written based on an idea from canthlian at fanficrants. Someone ranted that they were tired of mushy love scenes taking place on balconies. canthlian replied that they would like to see one take place with someone trying to fix a broken water pipe, with the mushiness interrupted by "Not that tap, damn it!" and so forth. I asked if I could use the idea. I wouldn't call it "mushy", I don't like to write actual mush on purpose, but it is... fluffy.
> 
> Written also for the "overflow" theme at 30_kisses.

Walter was tired, frustrated, and growing wetter by the moment. This had started out to be a bad day, and had only gotten worse.

First there had been the incident with Seras Victoria in the kitchen. He didn't even want to think about that anymore. He hadn't shown that kind of stupidity in years.

Then one of the maids had been caught stealing the silverware. Clearly he was becoming soft in his old age. Sir Integral's grandfather had told the staff that vampires would suck out their blood if they took anything and in those years very little had gone missing. Probably because the threat was true.

But he had had to dismiss the woman, and she had become hysterical, even though he had not contacted the police. Sometimes he thought he was too old for this job, and wanted to spend the rest of his life hiding in his weapons lab where everything was controlled.

Then Sir Integral had noticed her shower didn't work. He had traced the problem to the lowest basement, where a pipe was apparently broken. The place was flooded. He went sloshing through the overflow, wondering how he would stop the leak. Some of the plumbing here was practically as old as British indoor plumbing, and the rest had been added over the years in bits and pieces. Not even Walter himself knew everything.

He could see the water dripping down the wall from the ceiling, but he still wasn't certain which pipe had broken. As he stood there looking up, his memory of this morning captured his mind yet again.

It had happened in the smaller kitchen, just before dawn. He had been making himself some toast, and had just sat down and taken off his gloves to eat. Seras had come in to speak with him. She had sat up on the counter, and had been telling some joke about vampires that she had seen on television, comparing it to something that she had read in a history book after she came to Hellsing. And he had been thinking to himself yet again that she was both intelligent and beautiful.

She had seen the look on his face and had asked what was on his mind. Why hadn't he just lied? People often lied when others asked what they were thinking. But he hadn't; he had walked over to her and told her the truth.

"I was thinking that you are not only very lovely, but very clever as well."

She hadn't answered, she had just smiled. And then, he cringed to remember, he had touched her. He had put one hand on her waist and run the other over her cheek. One couldn't really take that as only a friendly gesture, and his feelings when he had done it had not been merely friendly. And that was completely insane. She had put her hand up to cover his, and when he had seen her smooth pale hand over his age-spotted one the ridiculousness of the situation had hit him. Surely she was taking his hand to stop him from touching her. He had broken away and run out of the room, not even stopping to pick up his food or his gloves.

Water dripped onto his head, bringing him out of his shameful memory. This leak was only going to get worse if he didn't do something about it. He walked over to the nearest tap and began to turn it.

Suddenly he saw light come into the basement as the door at the top of the stairs opened.

"What is it?" he shouted, irritated.

"It's me, Seras Victoria."

He looked up to see her framed in the doorway.

"I need to talk to you," she said.

Of all the times to seek him out to tell him not to make improper advances, why now? But he supposed he couldn't blame her.

"Miss Victoria, I'm extremely sorry about this morning, and I have no intention of ever repeating my actions. I feel simply terrible. But please, this is not a good time to discuss it."

She walked down the stairs and moved through the spreading pool of water to stand next to him.

"Walter, I don't want you to feel that way. I just want to talk."

"I'm not certain I understand," he replied.

"Did you really mean what you said this morning?" she asked.

Walter sighed. Couldn't she just scold him and go away? He didn't want to tell her his real feelings only for her to very kindly and patronizingly say that she didn't return them.

"About you being clever and beautiful? Certainly. Don't stand there, the water will fall on your head."

She backed away as a drop hit her nose.

"I think you must be the only one to think that," she said. "Especially  
about the clever part."

"I think not," he replied. "Sir Integral's very proud of-- for God's sake don't lean on that, it will break too!"

Seras moved quickly away from the pipe she had been resting her weight on.

"Perhaps I can help you?" she said.

"I really don't think so. All I'm doing is trying to see which tap will stop the flow through the broken pipe. Then I'll try to fix the pipe. I wish I had a diagram but most of this work was done long ago."

"Why did you stop?" she asked.

"The plumbing work?" he asked, confused.

"Touching me. You were touching me, this morning." She turned away, blushing slightly, and reached for one of the taps.

"Yes, go ahead and try that one," he replied. "I had no business touching you in the first place. Surely you wanted me to stop?"

"Why would I want you to stop? I don't think this is the right one," she muttered, reaching for another.

"What on earth are you saying, Miss Victoria? I'm old enough to be your-- No, damn it, not that tap!"

She jumped away from the pipes.

"Sorry. Well, I don't really care so much about age. In my position I can hardly afford to, after all. And I... I'm quite fond of you, Walter."

Walter turned a tap blindly, his mind reeling. "You're... fond of me? You mean, in that sort of way?"

"Yes, I mean in that sort of way. How about if I turn this one?"

Walter stood there thinking. He was relieved that she wasn't angry, but could she really mean that she had romantic feelings for him?

"I don't mind. I mean, about the tap. About your feelings I... Well, I care for you as well, as you probably figured out this morning. But I hardly see how anything could work out between-- What are you doing? Don't turn it that way!"

Water poured down onto both their heads as Walter frantically jumped to turn the tap off.

"I think we've found which one it is," he said, now inches away from her.

All the leaking water had stopped.

"I think so too. You know, we'll never know unless we try," she said.

He knew what she was referring to. He couldn't believe what she was suggesting, but he was happy all the same.

"If you really want to be with me, I couldn't possibly say no," he said softly. He began to walk toward the stairs.

"Why aren't you going to kiss me?" she asked. "It's really all right."

"Probably because I'm soaking wet and ankle deep in water," he replied.

But he was almost laughing. He turned to face her.

"I'm going to call a proper plumber," he said. "Then I'll dry my hair and I'll meet you... wherever you like."

She winked. "You can leave your hair wet. I'll see you in half an hour in the kitchen. We can start over from this morning."

He almost ran to her right then, but he remembered his duty and the giant pool of water, and began to climb the stairs instead. "Very well, Miss Victoria. I thank you."


End file.
